


Hunters, Hunted

by BeneaththeHalo



Series: Courage Magic Strength [19]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 21:59:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2166687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeneaththeHalo/pseuds/BeneaththeHalo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The three man only slayed evil creatures and horrible, horrible people. But still, everyone had grown to fear them: the two mighty warriors and the apparent sorcerer they fought beside. The deadly trio.</p><p>The one the trio really wanted, though, was the witch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunters, Hunted

**Author's Note:**

> Day #19- Outdoors, Woods, Parks, Gardens

No one really knew where they’d come from. All people knew was that there was all sorts of evil in the world- people, sorcerers, and dark creatures so terrifying many didn’t dare to speak their names. The evil beings lived without fear of retaliation for killing or for destroying everything in their path. That was, until _they_ had appeared.

There were three of them: a tall, slim man, with dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes that seemed to shine; a slightly shorter, very well built man with blond hair that seemed to be made from sunlight itself; and a man shorter than the first two, with long brown hair and an air of charisma about him that could charm almost anyone. They looked like ordinary people, and to anyone who didn’t know better, they were. But the blond one and the long-haired one were incredibly proficient with a sword, able to cut down most anything in their path. And the taller one… there had been whispers of his power, the incredible magic he possessed, but no one had ever seen him use it. There were only rumours of the things that had happened around him- fires starting out of nowhere, enemies being blasted off their feet, objects and _living creatures_ being made out of nothing.

The three men only went after evil creatures and horrible, horrible people. But still, everyone had grown to fear them: the two mighty warriors and the apparent sorcerer they fought beside. The deadly trio.

***

“Are you _sure_ nobody saw me using magic this time?” Merlin asked, taking off his jacket and throwing it into a corner.

“Positive, Merlin,” said Arthur. “They were too busy staring at the massive monster trying to kill everyone.”

“ _And_ they were staring at me and Arthur with our dashing good looks and our fine form with our swords,” Gwaine added, sitting on the floor with a _thump_. “I am so glad you enchanted this floor so it’s soft, Merlin. That would’ve hurt otherwise.”

“I feel like there was a sexual innuendo in there somewhere,” Merlin commented, sitting down beside Gwaine. His magic book and the staff he used when he really wanted to focus all of his magic lay beside him, covered by a blanket just in case somebody else came into the clearing they were staying in. It was highly unlikely, though. Just as he always did, Merlin had enchanted the clearing to repel other people. If they came anywhere near, they’d find themselves walking in a different direction without even noticing.

“Of _course_ there was a sexual innuendo in there,” said Gwaine with a smirk. “You know how I get after all we fight all things dark and dangerous.” Gwaine had a hand on Merlin’s thigh, running his fingers up and down until Merlin could _feel_ it, shivering in anticipation. Gwaine grinned even wider, moving his hand up to palm Merlin’s cock slowly, a contented sigh falling from the warlock’s lips. “There we go. You wanna join us, Arthur?”

“My muscles ache far too much,” Arthur admitted. He flipped his belt open though, taking out his prick and rubbing it slowly. “I’ll just watch.”

“Alright then. All the more for me.” Gwaine flipped Merlin over, bending down over him. “You wanna use that spell for me?”

Instantly, Merlin’s eyes flashed gold, coating himself and Gwaine in oil. Being a warlock could come in handy, sometimes. He could feel Gwaine’s breath in his ear, tickling, and he could feel Gwaine’s weight above him. Merlin arched his body up, seeking Gwaine, already _wanting_. “Gwaine, please just hurry up, I can’t stand the teasing right- _gods!_ ”

Gwaine was _inside_ him them, filling and hurting and oh so right, thrusting in and out and setting the perfect rhythm. Merlin moved with him, bucking his hips up, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Arthur moving his hand faster and faster.

Magic swirled in the air around them, and when Merlin came with a strangled cry, spilling his load over the grass beneath him, the magic burst out too, threatening to tear trees from the ground. Arthur and Gwaine came soon after, and Gwaine just about collapsed onto the warlock beneath him. “Shove off,” said Merlin,” pushing Gwaine onto the ground. At the same time, though, Merlin was smiling.

Gwaine looked over at Arthur. “You missed out that time, my love,” he grinned. “Merlin was fucking _good_.”

***

Merlin and Arthur and Gwaine had known each other all their lives. They had grown up a land where magic wasn’t something to be feared, but rather something that should be revered and respected. Merlin had been born the child of a noblewoman and an incredibly powerful sorcerer, with his magic evident almost from the day he was born. The trio had been best friends since the day they’d met, Gwaine the son of a knight and Arthur the son of a noblewoman. Gwaine and Arthur had been named knights themselves as soon as they were old enough and had been assigned to guard Merlin, to Gwaine and Arthur’s chagrin and Merlin’s delight.

Of course, being both a noble family and a family of sorcerers meant that Merlin’s parents weren’t without their enemies. Nimueh had been a friend of the family long ago, before Merlin had even been born. His parents had never spoken of her and had forbidden Merlin to even ask, merely saying she was a woman with terrible power and command over dark magic. Not long after Merlin had come of age, Nimueh had turned her terrible wrath upon their home, destroying everything and everyone in her path. Merlin didn’t want to leave his parents- he _knew_ he could protect them, his magic was powerful enough, he was ready- but they had turned to Arthur and Gwaine and ordered them to protect Merlin, to get him out and away before Nimueh could find them. They got Merlin out just in time, but not before Nimueh found his parents. Sometimes, when he was sleeping, Merlin could hear their agonising screams.

That was why they had turned to hunting evil, after three long years of living on the run, moving from various cities and villages and living in the forest to stay hidden. They had literally nothing else to live for except for each other, and the years of practice while they were hiding out meant Merlin had honed his magic. His power was immense, stronger than any sorcerer that came before him, and as long as the trio was smart, nothing could stand in their way.

And one day, when they’d found her again, Merlin would be ready to kill Nimueh.

***

“I still don’t get why you just don’t let people see you using your magic,” Arthur said conversationally to Merlin, poring over the map they had. "Pretty sure everybody's scared of us anyway. It would explain why they give us everything we want."

"Because Nimueh will see," said Merlin. "She'll see, and she'll _know._ She'll come after us. You know she wants my magic, Arthur. If she finds us before we're ready, we have no hope." Merlin’s expression darkened, and Arthur and Gwaine knew without asking exactly what Merlin was thinking of. They hadn’t heard it themselves, too determined to get Merlin out, but before Nimueh had killed Merlin’s parents she _tortured_ them, so horribly it was a wonder they didn’t snap. The pain they went through was most certainly excruciating, and there was only one thing she wanted to know: _where was Merlin?_ But they never snapped, and took the secret with them to their graves.

Merlin still blamed himself for their deaths, even now.

“We’re here for her anyway, aren’t we?” Gwaine spoke up from where he was sharpening his sword in the corner. And he was right; the only reason they’d come here was because they’d received reports of a woman, beautiful but deadly, with magic so powerful she could destroy everything in her path without lifting a finger. But they weren’t going after her until they were sure of her identity, and they were sure they could handle it. “We _will_ get her one day. Soon.”

***

One day came sooner than they thought. When people turned up dead, tortured the same way Merlin’s parents had been, they knew it was her. Nimueh. And she was looking for them.

What Arthur and Gwaine hadn’t counted on was Merlin, stupid, reckless and selfless Merlin, going after Nimueh himself before they could stop him. Even though _he_ was the one who insisted they wait until they were ready, he snuck off while Arthur and Gwaine were sleeping. They knew, straight away, that he hadn’t actually _meant_ ‘wait until we’re ready’, he meant ‘I’m going to pretend to wait but really run off on my own so the two of you aren’t in danger’. Typical Merlin. It hadn’t been the first time he’d done that.

Once Arthur and Gwaine found Merlin, he was already locked in battle with Nimueh. They could _feel_ the magic in the air, crackling all around them; the familiar magic filled with light and joy and _love_ that belonged to Merlin, and the magic of darkness and _hatred_ that could only be Nimueh’s. Gwaine nearly cried out Merlin’s name, but Arthur instantly shut him up with a hand over his mouth. If Merlin _knew_ that they were there, he’d get distracted, and Nimueh would almost certainly win.

It seemed, though, that even if Merlin hadn’t noticed them, Nimueh had. Throwing up a shield to protect herself from Merlin’s attacks, she conjured a ring of fire around Arthur and Gwaine, trapping them. The ring was slowly moving, getting closer and closer, and they could feel its incredible heat. If they didn’t do something soon, they were going to die.

“ _No!_ ” Merlin cried, seeing them, panic and fear and sadness and then _rage_ in his eyes. He turned to look at Nimueh.

“You shouldn’t have tried to hurt them,” he said, his voice scary calm, and a chill ran through Arthur and Gwaine despite the fire.

Merlin threw out a hand, and _lightning_ \- made out of magic and energy and Merlin’s anger- came from the sky, striking Nimueh right in the heart. She screamed and screamed and _screamed_.

And then she was gone.

The fire surrounding them vanishing with Nimueh, Arthur and Gwaine ran towards Merlin just in time to see his eyes roll back in his head and catch him before he crumpled to the ground.

“He’s barely breathing,” Gwaine whispered, horror-stricken. “And I can hardly find a pulse.”

Arthur closed his eyes _tight_ , trying to think, to focus. Merlin needed him. “Let’s get him back,” he said.

***

“It’s been so long?” said a familiar voice, drenched in sadness. “What if… what if he never wakes up?”

“Hush, Arthur,” said a second, also familiar voice. “We shouldn’t think that way. He will wake up. He _will_.”

“Yeah, so I can prevent you too from killing each other,” Merlin whispered, groaning as he opened his eyes.

Arthur and Gwaine were beside him in an instant. “Merlin, you _idiot_!” he exclaimed, kissing Merlin’s brow, his heart, his mouth. “Why did you go alone?”

“Because it was me she wanted, not the two of you,” Merlin said, trying and failing to sit up. “You didn’t have to be in danger. And besides, it worked out, didn’t it?”

“Merlin, you were asleep for a full week!” said Gwaine. “We thought… we thought you were going to die.”

“I could never leave you,” Merlin whispered, resting a tender hand on Gwaine’s cheek and smiling at the two men. “I love you both far too much for that.”

“Do you love us enough to _never_ run off on us like that again?” said Arthur, running his hands all over Merlin’s naked body, as if trying to reassure himself that the warlock really was still there.

“Arthur…” Merlin whispered, when Arthur’s hands found Merlin’s hips. “Turn me over,” he instructed, nodding, and when Arthur did so he spoke again. “You both know I cannot make that promise. I could _never_ make that promise. If it meant both of you would be safe, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Arthur’s finger was on Merlin’s puckered entrance, rubbing around it, teasing it, watching Merlin shiver beneath him. When Merlin muttered that spell, coating his own entrance with oil, Arthur eased his finger inside, stretching and exploring and rubbing oh so tenderly. Merlin let out a low moan, urging Arthur on.”

Gwaine, meanwhile, pressed his lips to Merlin’s collarbone, leaving a trail of kisses all the way up his neck. “We love you, you stupid warlock,” he said affectionately, even as Merlin _squirmed_. “We always will.”

“I know,” said Merlin in a low voice. “I love you too.”


End file.
